Take Heart

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit”

(Romans 15:13, NIV)

These are unusual times. The world is in chaos. Individuals have spent more consecutive time in their homes in the past two weeks then they probably have in the past year. Families are unable to visit one another, best friends have not seen each other for weeks, classes have been disrupted, and workplaces displaced to one’s kitchen table. There is a formidable sense of discomfort, anxiety, and fear. These things are somewhat consistent for individuals around the world. However, the onset of COVID-19 has brought a unique struggle to the Christian community. For perhaps the first time for many people, churches have been unable to meet. This fact, especially for Americans, is a new and unusual experience.

For these reasons, I found Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s chapter on the Christian community to be especially relevant for this time. God created humans for community, and God created the Christian community to be a place of special connection and enrichment for the believer. Bonhoeffer states this: “The physical presence of other Christians is a source of incomparable joy and strength to the believer” (26). The church of the New Testament was designed to be a place of intimate community and structured accountability. Furthermore, we see Jesus himself as an example of community in the way that he engaged with and ministered to many people. Yes, he took time away from the crowds to be with his Father, but he never isolated himself for extended periods of time.

Therefore, COVID-19 and the circumstances surrounding it begs the question from believers, “how do we live, fellowship, and grow closer to Christ and one another through this unprecedented time?” Bonhoeffer points out an incredibly important fact which is the starting and ending place in this discussion. Jesus Christ is who binds together the Christian community. Christians cannot grow and thrive in community without the bond of brotherhood and sisterhood which Christ brought through his death and resurrection.

Bonhoeffer brings to mind the events of the New Testament when Christians were spread abroad engaging in ministry and seeking refuge from persecution. The events of the coronavirus have brought uncertainty and fear to many people, and in a similar sense to the events of the New Testament church, we are scattered in ways that we never have been before. We are uncertain of the future. Bonhoeffer points to the fact that, until the return of Christ, the church will be scattered, but his statement can also apply to the unique circumstances of the present-day church amidst the events of COVID-19. Bonhoeffer states: “Until then, God’s people remain scattered, held together in Jesus Christ alone, having become one because they remember him in the distant lands, spread out among the unbelievers” (25).

As followers of Jesus Christ, can we use this time of being scattered to continually grow in our relationship with Christ, to strengthen and encourage one another through times of prayer and fasting, and to reach out to our neighbor and to the world in a unique way. These are difficult, even traumatic times. When we rejoin in worship and communion, will we return as wounded soldiers with our heads hung low, or will we return as battered and weary soldiers with fortified hearts and minds because we were overcome and strengthened by the peace of God? The peace that was not like the peace the world tried to give, but the peace that comes only through intimate fellowship and relationship with Jesus Christ (John 14:27).

My brothers and sisters in Christ, take heart and remember. Remember that although we are outwardly wasting away, inwardly we are being renewed every day (2 Corinthians 4:16), and remember that nothing is able to separate you from God’s love (Romans 8:38). Today, amidst the chaos, struggle, and anxiety, may you rest and find abundant peace in the fact that He, Jesus Christ, has overcome the world (John 16:33).